Voigt has six kids, aged 2 to 17, and a dog which he says he tried to convince his family not to take in. But now, guess who gets to walk it every day when he is home?

Outside of cycling, he is also into geocaching, which according to Wikipedia, is an international game of hide and seek using GPS devices.

So one of the first things Voigt did when he got to Adelaide this week was find a geocache (GPS hunt), which fortunately was not far from his hotel.

He entertains 103,000 followers on Twitter with everything from trying to understand why Australians sell "horse poo for $2 a bag" to why it is always him having to walk the family dog in Europe's freezing weather.

Voigt is also a Youtube talent. A video about how many coffees he has per day has had more than 52,000 hits.

He also coined the phrase "shut up legs" which has gone global on T-shirts lining races throughout the world.

Cycling has its place in Voigt's life - a very important place for it has taken him to stage victories in the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia - but his life also has some balance.

He says his second name should be "switch off," for as soon as he has finished training, he is back to being a normal person - a parent, husband and friend.

"Sometimes people would live at my house for a week and say `how can he be a professional rider?' Voigt said.

"Because I come home from training, your cleats make a noise on the ground and the kids go `daddy, daddy,' running to the door, fighting to open it,so they can tell you what they want to do.

"You hardly manage to hang up the bike in the garage and they say `daddy, we're going to walk Linda (dog), no I want to go fishing, no I want to play with a Barbie doll with you'.

"I have to say `OK, can daddy have a quick shower and some food first?' And they say `OK, but only short'.

"If the bike is on the hook in the garage, cycling is done."

Voigt's career has gone full circle. He likes to break into three parts.

The first quarter is spent learning, developing and getting stronger. The next half is about winning, being selfish and wanting support from the team.

The final quarter is about giving back to the team, which is why Voigt is still so valuable in the WorldTour peloton.

"My job is not anymore to win big races, it's to help, to chase down some groups, cover the breakaways, bring some bottles for the boys, make sure they're well positioned for the climb," he said.

"I still enjoy it, I still love it and I'm still capable of being there when needed."

But there are also days when he does not love it and wonders why he is still racing when most other cyclists his age have moved either into the team car as directors, or onto the couch at home.

"Every single time you hit the ground you go `why don't I actually just lay down here and call it a day?'," he said

"Or if it's terrible weather in winter and you're training and you go, `I don't know why I keep doing this to myself'.

"But then you have great days which remind you why you're still doing it.

"Last year at Tour Down Under I got a big cheer from the crowd and I said `yep, that's why I'm still here'."

Even though some days his body doesn't agree.

"You have these ah ha moments at an increasing rate, like when you get home from training, get off the bike and you can hardly get your leg over the saddle. And it wasn't like that 10 years ago," he said.

His catchphrase "shut up legs" is a message to himself when he is suffering on the bike.

"I went to a race in the US and there was not one single climb without `shut up legs' on it," he said.

"People jumping up and down on the side of the streets saying `shut up legs, go Jens'."

It was `shut up legs' that saved Voigt in the Tour of Utah last year.

"It was a really hot day and straight away they made me work and we did tempo chasing for 120km.

"Then I just so exploded on a little climb. The sprinter (Francesco) Chicchi - I could not stay on his wheel uphill.

"And I thought OK, I should just give my licence to my sports director and ask for a ticket to go home.

Then people were like `come on Jens, you're almost there, you've inspired us all these years and shut up legs, you can do it' and somehow I crawled along and made it to the finish."

Even though he no longer considers himself a winner, Voigt has still managed to win at least one race every year of his 16-year professional career.

Last year it was at the US Pro Cycling Challenge.

But he sees his sacrifice for the team as loyalty and as rewarding as winning himself. Voigt sees similarities between his role at RadioShack and of a parent.

"Andy and Franky (Schleck) are perfect examples," Voigt said.

"When we came to the team with Bjarne (Riis at Saxo Bank) we had some established riders and Frank and Andy were like little puppies following us around saying `how do you do that, wow, ah ha, that's why you put your seat up like that, and your shoes'.

"Then suddenly you realise they're next to you.

"Then the next year, you're still here but they've gone past you.

"So a tiny little piece of the success of their development, it's yours and it's rewarding."

He said loyalty to his teammates was because they saw each other like family - like when Fabian Cancellara shared his last chocolate bar with Voigt at 4am in the forest on a team training camp.

So when Voigt pedals off with his cycling family in the Tour Down Under this week, he'll have no worries sacrificing himself for his teammates.

Though don't be surprised to see him in an early breakaway when a shout of `shut up legs' from the roadside might be just what he needs to make it to the finish.

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